Storage battery.



T'. A. WILLARD.

STORAGE BATTERY. APPLICATION FILED JULY 6,1915.

'Pdtghted Spt. 24,191&

" 2SHEETS-SHEETL T. A. WILLARD.

STORAGE BATTERY. APPLICATION TILED IULY 6. IBIS.

1,279,953. I PatentedSepn.24(1918.

2 sucns-suzzr 2.:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE A WILLARD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'TO WILLARD STORAGE. BATTERY COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

STORAGE BATTERY Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

I Application filed July 6, 1915. Serial No. 38,169.

' man, a. citizen of the United States, residand State of Ohio, have invented a certain battery box whichreceives a number of jars new and useful Improvement in Storage 11, one of which is shown, and each of which Batteries, of which the following is a full, is sealed in the box by sealing material, such clear, and exact description. as shown at 12. The jar contains the usual This invention relates to storage batteries, positive and negative battery plates 13 10 and especially to means for sealing the ter; which are connected t ogether in the customminal posts in the battery jar cover for the ary manner by straps 14 from which exprevention of crcepage of acid or battery sotend upwardly the positive and negative terlution around the posts to the exterior of the mine] posts 15. The par is provided with ver a cover 16, which, with the present inven- 15 The present application is a continuation tion, is preferably composed of metal.

i in pa'rt of my prior Patent, No. 1,150,917, The cover 16 ispro'vided with openings August 24, 1915, wherein the post is sealed 1n through which the terminal posts 15 extend the cover by providing in or on'the cover a reand with receptacles}? which surround the ceptacle preferably in the form of a groove ppenings. These receptacles may be .formed 20 or depression adapted to contain sealing indifferent ways, asis obvious, but prefercompound and by providing on the post a ably they are formed as in my prior apphcaconnector having a portion preferably in the .tlon previously referred to, and hence are in form of a flange or petticoat which surthe shape of grooves or depressions which rounds the post and extends down into the project beneath the top of the cover, and

25 sealing compound. p 7 each is formed by an outer downturned The present invention is preferably utiflange 17 of the ov r in r up. liz ed in connection with metal battery covers, turned flange 17 which surrounds the termiand has for its object to provide a construe nal post 15 and is spaced therefrom. tion wherein the. post is both sealed in the F itted'onto the top of each terminal 0st so cover and effectively insulated therefrom. 15 and secured thereto preferably by ead The invention may be briefly summarized burning is a connector 18, whic may be as consisting in certain novcl details of coneither a cell connector adapted to connect struotion and combinations and arrange together the positive and negative posts of merits of parts which will be described in adjacent jars or a terminal connector to the specification and set forth in the apwhich one end ofa flexible conductor may pended claims. a be secured. This connector 18 is provided H In the accompanying sheets of drawings, with a body portion 18 having a socket Figure 1, is a longitudinal sectional view which receives the end of the post andwith through the upper part of a battery ema depending portion. preferably in the form 40 bodying-my inventionyFig. 2 is a perspecof a flange or petticoat 18 which extends tive view of an insulating cup or sleeve emdown into the receptacle or depression 17. ployedin the construction shown in Fig. 1; In my prior application the flange extends ig, 3 is a transverse sectional viewthrough down into a sealing compound provided in y the battery; Fig. i is a fragmentary secthe receptacle, and thus forms a very ef-' 46 tional view showing a modification;-Fig. 5 :Eective seal for the post.

ing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga is a plan view of a (portion of a battery showing a further mo i fication; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the same construction; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an insulating spacer employed in the construction or modification shown in Figs. 5' and fiffigc. 8 is a sectional view through the method of simultaneously sealing and insulating; and Fig. 9 is a similar view of the same partly assembled.

In the drawings, 10 represents a storage In the present construction the flange is not only sealed in the receptacle, but is insulated therefrom in such a way as to prevent contact between the connector and the cover 16, as might be the case if the connector is not centrally located with reference to the walls of the receptacle.

cover, nsulating cup and connector with the parts isolatedand ready to be assembled, and be showing a furtherslight modification in the The connector may be insulated. and. sealed in numerous. ways, but in. the preferred construction I employ an insulating them together.

sleeve or cup 19, which is provided with reversely extending flanges o1- walls forming an upwardl facing groove or depression which receives the flange .or pettieoat 18 of the connector, and" a downwardly facing groove or recess which receives the inner upturned flange 17 b of the cover. The parts are so proportioned that the rubber sleeve fits tightly both tl cover and con nector.

The interfitting parts of the insulating sleeve and the walls or flanges of the coter and connector may be sealed in various ways,-sueh by coating the flange portions of the sleeve with sealing compound which afterthe parts are assembled will harden and will effectively prevent creepage of battery or acid solution to the exterior of the cover. This is illustrated in 4, wherein the coating of sealing com pound is shown at 20 in exaggerated thiclc ness. 'In this figure the construction or shape of the insulating sleeve is slightly modified as it ditl'ers from the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in the respect that the inner downturned flange which in the prior construction extends between the postand the inner flange 17 of the cover is omitted.

Another method of sealing the insulating sleeve to the parts of the connector and cover which the sleeve engages consists in forming the sleeve of sticky unvulcanized rubber and in vuleanizing or curing the rub- .her after the parts are assembled.

A still further method is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. insulating sleeve is fitted 'down into the groove or depression of the cover and before the connector fitted into the insulating sleeve (which is ot the same construction as illustrated in Fig.1 4) the groove or recess 1'1 of the 'covcr and the groove or recess of the insulating sleeve are 'partially filled with melted or liquid sealing coi'npound or content. Then when the parts are assembled or forced together in the manner illustrated in Fig. 9 a part of the sealing eon'ipo'und will be squeezed out of the grooves and up between the interfitting parts, enough remaining between these parts to effectively seal and cement It ispnot essential that the insulating medium for each post he of one integral. part,but it may be formed of several separate pieces, such as illustrated at 22 in Figs. 5 6 and 7. As here shown I employ fou; pieces of rubber, each substantially S-shaped. These insulating spacing me1nlers which are arranged 90 apart space the post from the inner flange of the cover and space the flange or petticoat of the connector from both the inner: and outer flanges of the cover as shownin Fig. 6. y The spaces between them-separators or spacers 22 is As there shown, before thesurrounding "the opening,

filled with sealing compound 24, which will be placed in the groove or depression either before or latter the spacers are placed inposition that when the connector is fitted onto the p st the flange extendingdown into the groov or depression of the cover the parts will be effectively sealed. v

I have here illustrated terminal posts circular in crosssection and the "other parts which cooperate with or surround the post of the same shape in cross section Ho vever, this cross sectional shape'of the parts shown for convenience of illustration only, and I do not wish to be confined to the same, as they may assume any other shape des ircd, such as square or rectangular, it being understood that with the square or rectangular post the opening i the cover,

and the flanges of the cover, connector and insulating sleeve 19, will be correspondingly shaped. i

I do not desire to be confined to the exact details shown, butaim in myclaims to cover all modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of my invention, 3

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. lo a storage battery, a jar or container having a cover provided with an opening for a terminal post and with; a receptacle surroumli'ng thepost, a connector onthe post having a' portion extending downward into the receptacle and an insulating spacer separating the said portion of the connector trom the wall or walls of the receptacle.

2. la a storage battery, a container having a cover provided with an opening for terminal post and with a walled receptacle surrounding the opening, a terminal post eX- tending through the opening, a connector on the terminal post, said connector having a portion extending down into said receptacle, and rubber insulating means spacing said portion of the connector from the wall or walls of the receptacle.

3. A storage battery container having a cover provided with an opening foraterminal post, and with a walled receptacle a terminal post extending up through said opening, a connector on the post having a portion extending downward into the receptacle, and an insulating medium fitted into the receptacle and tightly engaging the said portion of the connector. I

4. A storage battery container having a cover provided with an opening for a ter-' n-nnal post and with a walled receptacle surrounding the opening, a terminal post extending through said opening, a connector on tho.post having a portion extending downward into the receptacle, and an insulator 1n sald receptacle spacing the said portion of the connector from the Wall or I walls ofthe receptacle and sealed to the mnnmrtor and to the wall or walls of the terminal post, a pair of inner andouter walls or flanges surrouljiding said owning and formin a receptacle, an insu ator fitted into sai receptacle and having an upwardly facing groove, and a connector on the post having a depending portion extendmg downwardl into said groove of the insulator, said insulator and depending portion of the connector being sealed in the receptrade 4 a 7. In a storage battery, container having a cover, provided with an opening for a terminal 0st and with inner and outer wails 0r angcs surrounding said opening and forming a receptacle, a terminal post extending through said opening, an insulator-fitted into the receptacle and provided with an upwardly facing roove and with a portion extending over tie inner wall. or

,flange of the cover, and a connector on the post having :1 depending portion extending into said receptacle between the walls thereof and fitted into the groove of said insulator. I

8. In a storage battery, a container having a cover provided with' an opening for a terminal post and with inner and outer walls or flai'iges surrounding said opening and forming a receptacle, 0; terminal post extending through said opening, an insulator fitted into the receptacle and provided with an upwardly facing groove and with apertion extending-over the inner wall or flange of the cover, and a connector on the post having a depending portion extendin said receptacle between the walls t ereof and fitted into the groove of the said insulator, saidinsulator and depending portion of the connector being sealed in the weep-- tacle.

into" 9. A storage battery'container having a" a into the receptacle and into said groove of the insulator, said insulator and said depending portion of the v connector being sealedin said receptacle.

10. In a storage battery,- a cover for a battery jar, a terminal post extending through the cover, a connector attached to the post, one of said parts having a depressed well' or receptacle immediately surrounding the post and another a flange extending into thewell, and an insulating Spacer separating the flange from the wallor walls of the well.

11. In a storage battery a cover for a' battery jar, a terminal post extending through the cover, a connector attached to the post, one of said parts having a depressed wellor receptacle in'nnedia-itely surrounding the post and another having a flange extending into the well, and an insulating spacer-fitted into the well and receiving the said flange.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

THEODORE A. WILLARD. 

